Year six journeyed to historic Greenwich today and learnt what an important role this area of London had in the world’s history.

Pupils travelled by train and were amazed by the sheer enormity of the skyscrapers in the docklands, particularly Canary Wharf.  Upon emerging from the Cutty Sark station, one pupil remarked ‘Wow! This place looks like Diagon Alley from Harry Potter!’ The pupils were mesmerised by the beautiful, fully restored Cutty Sark tea clipper and enjoyed a mid-morning snack on the banks of the Thames, outside Henry VIII’s Greenwich Palace.

Pupils strolled through Greenwich Park to see the Royal Observatory and the famous Greenwich Prime Meridian line, they had great delight in moving between the East and West hemispheres!

Once inside the Maritime Museum pupils were very excited to learn more about the Polar zones and shipping in the past. They were able to try on polar clothing, see original artefacts from polar expeditions, view polar animals, see original oil paintings and photographs of Shackleton’s exhibition.

There was great excitement in the hands-on section of the museum, pupils were able to: haul cargo with a winch, wear clothing from the past, fire cannons, tap out morse code messages, view replica ship food and many more activities.

The educational visit really put into perspective the difficulties that polar explorers faced and how different life on ships was in the past. The behaviour of the pupils was exemplary as always and all too soon they were on the train back to Dagenham East.